GAZA CITY, 17 July 2006 — Three Palestinians were killed as Israeli troops re-entered Gaza in its ongoing offensive against Palestinians who captured an Israeli soldier three weeks ago and exchanged gunfire with Palestinians.
Israeli forces moved into Beit Hanoun early yesterday, firing missiles and tank shells in and around the northern Gaza town, which has been used as a staging ground for rocket attacks on the nearby southern Israeli city of Sderot. Israeli airstrikes in Beit Hanoun throughout the night killed three Hamas fighters and wounded 11 people, including a child, hospital officials said. Ambulances were unable to reach the scene of one missile strike aimed at fighters.
Palestinians exchanged fire with Israeli forces, and Hamas men said they set off land mines and bombs against Israeli bulldozers and tanks in the area. The Israeli Army said its forces attacked Palestinians and fired a missile at a Hamas office in northern Gaza.
Two journalists — a Palestinian and a Japanese — were injured in the attack, Mohammed Bassiouni, director of Beit Hanoun hospital said. He added that the two were being treated at the hospital.
Israel started its Gaza offensive on June 28, three days after Hamas-backed fighters tunneled under the border and attacked an Israeli Army post, killing two soldiers and capturing Cpl. Gilad Shalit.
Yuval Diskin, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, told Israel’s Cabinet yesterday that he believed Shalit was still alive, according to a participant in the meeting.
Palestinian groups — save for Hamas’ military wing — vowed to press their rocket attacks against Israel from the south in part to show their solidarity with Hezbollah. “From here in Palestine, we launch the campaign to deter the aggression against Palestine and Lebanon, and to show solidarity with the twin of our resistance,” said Abu Mujahid, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, a Hamas-allied group.
— With input from agencies
